Sunday, April 24, 2011

Cheesy Orzo Frittata

I have this habit of buy all shapes pasta to keep in my pantry. It is not that we are big pasta eater but I like to keep them handy when I needed them. One of them is Orzo Pasta. Orzo pasta is a type of pasta which is made in the shape of a grain of rice. This pasta is very versatile, and it can be use in soup, salad, casserole or you can even substitute orzo for the rice. The word orzo is Italian for “barley,” and a reference to the size and shape of the pasta. The small size can make orzo fun pasta to work and cook with.

I found this Chicken and Orzo Frittata by Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network.com. I change the recipe a bit with some leftovers from my fridge. I replaced the chicken with some leftover ham, the roasted peppers with sundried tomatoes and added some olives since Carlos is a huge fan of it. Her recipe also calls for crème fraiche, which I don’t usually have on hand so I substituted it with half and half. This is an easy dish to prepare and we enjoyed it with some salad.

This is my version of the frittata but you can check out the original recipe here .

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F. Line and greased an 8” round baking pan.
2. Bring a small pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add in orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
3. In a large brown combined the eggs, ricotta and half and half. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Add in the cooked orzo, ham, sundried tomatoes, olives, spring onions, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Place the pan under the broiler until golden on top, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let set for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with a side salad.

Note: You can replace the Ham with any type of protein.I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #6 : Say Cheese (April 2011) hosted by Jean of Noms I Must.

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About Me

I was born and raised in Malaysia and now live in Northern California, USA with my wonderful husband Carlos. I love to bake and cook. It is very relaxing and I find my creativity flowing in the kitchen. I creates this blog to record all my cooking and baking adventures and also share my tested recipes with you.
I don’t consider myself an expert but all the recipes here are tried and tested by me, unless noted otherwise.
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